You should get a open-ended, return ticket, anyway. There's no way to be sure your job will work out in Taiwan. If it doesn't, you have 2 weeks to pack up and leave... and having the comfort of that return ticket is nice just in case you dont want to be scrambling to escape at the last minute after your school here didnt work out (which, given the high turnover rate of schools in Taiwan is very very likely).

I'm flying to Taiwan tomorrow morning. My employer told me that previous students never were questioned about an onward ticket or return ticket. But I talked to American Airlines on the phone and they said you need a return ticket to the United States. I'm hearing so many mixed stories I don't know what's going on. I wouldn't mine buying a cheap ticket to Hong kong or Thailand but I won't be able to buy to return to the U.S. Let me know if anyone has any experience with this.

The easiest way around this is to buy a ticked to the nearest location outside the country, in the case of Taiwan that would be hong kong or Singapore. If you book with eva air they will do a full refund, it will only cost you $24 for a processing fee.
Dont book for mainland china, because you would be required to buy a chinese visa (which can get expensive)

Not sure about the Singapore recommendation but the concept is valid. You don't need a return ticket to the point of your initial departure, you just need a ticket out of Taiwan. Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Japan, Korea are all relatively cheap tickets from Taiwan.

I've posted on this before but I'll mention it again. I have 'heard of people' using doctored tickets in the past. When you get an e-ticket, save it as a Word.doc because it's not hard to mess with departure, arrival and flight times, flight numbers etc. Just go online and check flights and specifics, input the necessary info (all available online) and voila - a departure ticket.

Not sure about the Singapore recommendation but the concept is valid. You don't need a return ticket to the point of your initial departure, you just need a ticket out of Taiwan. Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Japan, Korea are all relatively cheap tickets from Taiwan.

I've posted on this before but I'll mention it again. I have 'heard of people' using doctored tickets in the past. When you get an e-ticket, save it as a Word.doc because it's not hard to mess with departure, arrival and flight times, flight numbers etc. Just go online and check flights and specifics, input the necessary info (all available online) and voila - a departure ticket.

Some travel agents will also provide you with a paper that looks like a return ticket. When I first came to Taiwan my agent in the US provided me with a fake return ticket.

I received a 60 day visa extendable. I found a teaching job before 30 days were up, and the boss got my work permit in 30 days without me having to leave the island. If you just only have a 60 day visa and can get a job before the the 30 day mark, then you don't have to leave the country, because it takes 30 days to process the paper work for an ARC. Hope this helps.

Unfortunately, the issue isn't how fast you can find a job within a 60 day period. On a tourist visa or visa exempt entry you are technically not allowed to work or seek employment of any kind and therefore should be prepared to prove that you will be leaving the country by producing an onward ticket.

That's not to say you will be asked to produce it - just that you should have something in case you are..